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Published on: July 22, 2018
Recreation-induced changes in boreal bird communities in protected areas
K Kangas1, M Luoto, A Ihantola
1Oulanka Research Station and Department of Biology, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, Oulu FI-90014, Finland. katja.kangas@oulu.fi
Summary
Recreation impacts forest bird communities in protected areas. Ground-nesting birds are most affected by visitor numbers, highlighting the need for careful management of recreational activities in these sensitive ecosystems.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Ornithology
- Conservation Biology
Background:
- Human-induced disturbance effects on birds are increasingly studied.
- Few studies focus on recreation's impact on forest bird communities within protected areas.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the relative importance of recreation and environmental variables on bird communities in Oulanka National Park, Finland.
- Assess the impact of visitor numbers and tourism infrastructure on bird occurrence and composition.
Main Methods:
- Utilized general additive models (GAM) to analyze bird data collected via line transects.
- Related bird community data to visitor numbers, tourism infrastructure, and habitat variables.
- Incorporated spatial autocorrelation using an autocovariate term in GAMs.
Main Results:
- Recreation (number of visits) significantly affected bird occurrence and community composition, but not total species richness.
- Ground-nesting, open-cup nesting bird species exhibited the strongest negative response to visitor pressure.
- Cavity-nesting species showed no significant impact from recreation; habitat characteristics were primary drivers of bird occurrence.
Conclusions:
- Even low levels of recreation-induced disturbance can negatively impact specific bird species and groups.
- Management strategies for protected areas with recreational activities should consider the effects of visitor pressure on sensitive bird populations.
- Habitat characteristics remain the dominant factor influencing bird communities, but recreation adds a significant layer of disturbance.
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